Unconquered (1947)Intrepid frontiersman Chris Holden foils the political and personal ambitions of renegade Martin Garth in the Ohio Valley following the French and Indian War. Director:Cecil B. DeMille |
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Unconquered (1947)Intrepid frontiersman Chris Holden foils the political and personal ambitions of renegade Martin Garth in the Ohio Valley following the French and Indian War. Director:Cecil B. DeMille |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Gary Cooper | ... | ||
| Paulette Goddard | ... | ||
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Howard Da Silva | ... |
Garth
(as Howard da Silva)
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| Boris Karloff | ... | ||
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Cecil Kellaway | ... | |
| Ward Bond | ... | ||
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Virginia Campbell | ... | |
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Katherine DeMille | ... | |
| Henry Wilcoxon | ... |
Capt. Steele
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| C. Aubrey Smith | ... |
Lord Chief Justice
(as Sir C. Aubrey Smith)
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Victor Varconi | ... |
Capt. Simeon Ecuyer
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Virginia Grey | ... | |
| Mike Mazurki | ... | ||
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Porter Hall | ... | |
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Richard Gaines | ... | |
In 1763, felon Abby Hale is sentenced to slavery in America. In Virginia, heroic Capt. Holden buys her, intending to free her, but villain Garth foils this plan, and Abby toils at Dave Bone's tavern. Garth is fomenting an Indian uprising to clear the wilderness of settlers, giving him a monopoly of the fur trade. Holden discovers Garth's treachery, but cannot prove anything against him. Can Holden and Abby save Fort Pitt from the Senecas? Many hairbreadth escapes. Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
UNCONQUERED is eye candy with its glorious Technicolor scenery and elaborate sets (a mixture of real location photography and painted backgrounds) and, as is typical of any Cecil B. DeMille epic, it's got a splendid cast and a lengthy running time to tell its frontier story of early America--the colonists vs. the Indians.
PAULETTE GODDARD is sold into indentured slavery and two men fight over her--GARY COOPER and HOWARD DA SILVA. That's the basic nub of the story, all events leading up to who will win the girl as Goddard and Cooper go through a series of wild adventures with Indians on their track as Cooper attempts to rescue her from Da Silva's attempt to keep her as his own property. There's even a thrilling escape from the Indians across the rapids and a wildly implausible stunt over the falls pulled by Cooper that is impressive despite being incredibly over-the-top.
There are several well-staged battle scenes with various forts being attacked by the redskins and each segment has a "cast of thousands" look that makes it clear no expense was spared to bring all the excitement to the screen.
Paulette's character undergoes a "Perils of Pauline" type of narrow escapes, each more implausible than the one before, but who cares when it's all served up by DeMille with sufficient amount of tension and daring.
Both stars are in fine form and deliver good performances, ably supported by a fine supporting cast of players including HENRY WILCOXON, C. AUBREY SMITH, KATHERINE DeMILLE, WARD BOND and CECIL KELLAWAY.
One of DeMille's better epics, well worth viewing for fun and adventure with lavish attention to detailed costumes and settings.